Synopsis for "Fourth and Goal"

Continued from last issue....

The heroes that was brought to Franklin's universe following Onslaught have all been gathered as they all prepare to depart back to their native reality in order to save themselves from destruction at the hands of the Celestials. However, Reed Richards, Bruce Banner, Tony Stark, and Dr. Doom decide that they need to do something to save Counter-Earth as well.

While on the streets of New York, Captain America and Falcon depart, bidding their farewells to Bucky, who cannot go back with them. She accepts the reality, however she is deeply saddened by it. With everyone gathered, they Reed tells the others that he just can't up and leave if this universe and all it's living beings would be destroyed just like that. Ashema tells them that there is nothing to do, that Franklin is destined for the stars and that he's chosen this world for destruction. Franklin refuses to go with her and all the heroes stand in her way telling her that she will have to fight them if she is to take Franklin away.

While somewhere out in the endless realm of time and space, Dr. Strange has Franklin's toy ball -- the portal to Counter-Earth in his hands and petitions a powerful force to spare Counter-Earth, the being states that it will do what it can but asks that Dr. Strange leave the ball in it's possession. Complying, Strange knows that the rest is up to the heroes that are still presently on Counter-Earth.

There, Ashema is about to fight back against the heroes until she looks into the eyes of Franklin Richards. She pauses, then stops and then decides that if all these super-beings of different background can gather together then she will try to spare both worlds and let them leave. When Thor doubts her, she tells him she has no purpose in lying to them and when Thor continues to balk she temporarily turns him into a frog as a show of power. She agrees to spare Counter-Earth on the condition that all of the gathered heroes return to their own universe after.

Before departing the heroes are given the time to say goodbye to all the people they knew on Counter-Earth. Iron Man spends this moment to spend one last romantic evening with Pepper Potts before departing, not telling her that he will never be back. When they all depart in the ship, Dr. Doom begins to remark on the power that Franklin has at his command. They then depart in the ship across the dimensional gulf between both worlds and the last thing Franklin sees of Ashema is her floating in space smiling. With the heroes out of sight, Ashema strips away her human form into a being of pure light and flashes off in a powerful blaze.

As the heroes are reaching their destination, Dr. Doom suddenly uses a neural disruptor on Franklin and makes an escape out of the ship, hoping to use the siphoning devices he created to siphon the Power Cosmic from the heralds of Galactus to steal Franklin's power. However, Doom is stopped by Mr. Fantastic and Thor who rescue the boy, and Doom is shunted off into a portal, and is seemingly lost to them. As the heroes smash through the barrier, they all suddenly remember their past lives, with all their previous memories crashing in all at once.

The ship they are traveling in cannot handle the stress of bridging the gulf explodes, however most of the heroes escape in an escape pod, while the FF and Franklin escape in one of the Invisible Woman's invisible force fields. Bruce Banner and the Hulk are thrown from the blast and are merged back together into one singular being once more. With the crisis over, Sue finds herself and her family back on Earth, Ashema appears before them briefly and tells Sue that she has a precious cargo and to take care of it.

While back on Counter-Earth, the crisis there has also been averted, while everyone rejoices, Bucky is in tears after having lost the greatest man she has ever known. While out in the space, Ashema has resumed her Celestial form and in sacrifice for saving both universes from destruction she now sleeps an eternal slumber.

The blue ball that was once owned by Franklin Richards? Now in the possession of Eternity, who plans to keep it safe for all time.

It is worthy to note that She-Hulk and members of the Inhuman royal family were aboard the ship destined back to Earth-616, even though they were not native of that dimension, but creations of Franklin Richards. According to the All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, at least in the case of She-Hulk she was merged with her Earth-616 counterpart, it is presumable the same happened to the members of the Inhuman royal family.